Patrick Leahy: “I began the hearing on this nomination by putting forward what for me was the ultimate question during the consideration…”

“I began the hearing on this nomination by putting forward what for me was the ultimate question during the consideration of a successor to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: Would Judge Alito, if confirmed by the Senate to the Supreme Court, protect the rights and liberties of all Americans and serve as an effective check on government overreaching? Since this debate began last Wednesday, I have posed the fundamental question that this nomination raises for this body: whether the Senate will serve its constitutional role as a check on Executive power by preserving the Supreme Court as a constitutional check on the expansion of Presidential power. This is a nomination that I fear threatens the fundamental rights and liberties of all Americans now and for generations to come. As astonishing as the facts may seem, it does not overstate them to point out that the President is in the midst of a radical realignment of the powers of the government and of its intrusiveness into the private lives of Americans. This nomination is part and parcel of that plan. I am concerned that if confirmed, this nominee will further erode the checks and balances that have protected our constitutional rights for more than 200 years. This is a critical nomination, one that can tip the balance on the Supreme Court radically away from constitutional checks and balances and the protection of Americans' fundamental rights. The procedural vote just taken was in large measure symbolic.…”